A Jersey City man has been charged after authorities said he carjacked a vehicle with a baby in the backseat on Wednesday.File Photo

FREEHOLD – A Jersey City man who was arrested Wednesday after allegedly carjacking a random vehicle with an infant baby in the backseat has been charged with several offenses, including theft and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

A mother parked her 2012 Chevrolet Traverse in the driveway of a 13th Street Hazlet home with her infant inside when she went to get her two other sons from the porch around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, prosecutor’s office spokesman Charles Webster said on Thursday. Rodney Anderson, 44, of Jersey City, then jumped in the vehicle and drove off, Webster said.

Anderson led police on a chase and later abandoned the SUV on the first block of Broad Street in Keyport with the 5-month-old girl inside, Webster said.

Anderson also stole $500 from the woman’s purse, a complaint said. Authorities found and arrested Anderson on Cliffwood Avenue near the NJ Transit crossing in Aberdeen on Wednesday, Webster said.

Anderson was charged with two counts of theft, eluding, possession of a controlled dangerous substance (heroin), endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest. He was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in lieu of $100,000 bail, jail records show.

In addition the prosecutor’s office, the Hazlet, Keyport and Aberdeen police departments jointly investigated the carjacking. Webster said the Federal Bureau of Investigations was also in the area and assisted authorities.